SAN DIEGO’S JOBLESS RATE DROPS TO 7.7%

Lowest level since December 2008

San Diego County’s unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent for the first time in more than four years.

The state Employment Development Department reported Friday that the county’s jobless rate in March was 7.7 percent, down from 9.3 percent a year ago.

“San Diego crossed an important threshold in March,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. “We’ve had strong job growth over the last year. It’s just a question of whether we can sustain that momentum, but there’s no doubt about it — we are having a solid recovery in San Diego in the job market.”

The last time the local unemployment rate was below 8 percent was December 2008, when it was 7.4 percent and on the rise.

County employers added 8,300 people to their payrolls in March and a solid 32,600 people over the past 12 months. Alan Gin, economist at the University of San Diego, said if the 30,000-plus pace keeps up by the end of the year, it would be the fastest job growth since 2000 and could force the unemployment rate below 7 percent.

“We’re not where we want to go yet, but we’re getting there and we’re getting there faster,” he said. “The pace is beginning to pick up.”

Gin said the job market would be fully recovered if unemployment breached 5 percent. The rate was below 5 percent for all of 2007, and 4.9 percent in April 2008. It peaked at 10.9 percent in July 2010.

Since March 2012, the number of people unemployed in the county has fallen by 24,100 — or 16 percent — while the labor force has grown by 13,700, or 0.9 percent. That’s what economists say is the right reason for the rate to drop — more people working or looking for work and fewer people saying they can’t find a job.

Competition is still tough among job seekers, despite the declining rate.

More than 300 job seekers turned out for the North County Spring Job Fair in Carlsbad on Friday. Attendee Joe Freund, 55, of north Escondido, said the job search has been frustrating since he lost his job as a systems engineer and test manager for a software development firm in January. Freund said he’s sent out 127 résumés but has landed only two in-person interviews, both through networking.

“I would like to have confidence in that (jobs) report,” said Freund.

Miguel Roman, a training manager with Panda Express, said job seekers were interested in the fast food company’s higher-paid positions. He noted there were far more applicants than positions open. A manager job started at $15 per hour; an assistant manager started at $13, and cooks and servers started at $9 per hour.

“Jobs are coming back, but it is lower-paying jobs,” said Phil Blair, CEO of Manpower San Diego. “We can clearly look at the negative side and say these people aren’t earning enough money to start the snowball effect of consumer spending … But it’s hard to move up the career ladder when you’re not on the ladder.”

In March, the leisure and hospitality industry accounted for the biggest job gains, adding 3,600 people to their payrolls.

Education and health services added 2,800 jobs in March; government grew by 2,100, and professional and business services increased by 1,700.

The construction sector was flat.

Trade, transportation and utilities — which includes the retail industry — led the losses with 900 jobs. Manufacturing was also down 800 jobs.

Reaser said it remains to be seen whether San Diego’s economy will see the same slowing the national economy has in the past month. She pointed to a dip in retail sales and manufacturing orders across the country.

Additionally, the $1.2 trillion in automatic federal spending cuts that began in March — called sequestration — could have a negative effect on the region, given its large defense and health research industries.

Gin said the housing market’s momentum could be enough to keep San Diego’s economy growing, despite the cuts.

The national jobless rate — which is adjusted for seasonal factors — was 7.6 percent in March. When adjusting San Diego’s jobless rate for seasonal factors, it’s also 7.6 percent, Reaser said.

It’s the first time since April 2009 that the two rates are equal, according to the PLNU calculation. For the majority of the 2000s leading up to the recession, San Diego’s jobless rate was lower than the nation’s.

Statewide, California’s unemployment rate dropped in March to a seasonally adjusted 9.4 percent as job growth continued to outpace the nation. California added 25,500 jobs in March, with the largest gains in professional and business services, which added 15,800 jobs, and information-based companies, with 11,700 positions.

The rate represented a drop from 9.6 percent in February and from 10.7 percent during the same period a year ago. California has added 286,000 jobs in the past 12 months.